Shaine Mata Blog

I've been checking out Google's +1 button today, as time permits. I can definitely see the potential for it. Compared to the FB "Like" button, which goes into a closed network that only benefits members, +1 has the potential to benefit your social circle and the public at large. For now, the feature is experimental, so only a small number of users are able to view and use it. For the moment, you can like all day and not get a recommendation from any of your friends. As with any new service that relies on others to adopt, it's no fun until everybody is on it. I hate using buzzwords, yet +1 is a dynamic way of curating content. Once more people get on it, the results will have much better context, relying less on SEO than peer recommendations. I can't help but wonder what benefit there would be in becoming a "super seeker"? Until people add +1 buttons to their websites, searches are all there is to the service. I'll give it a fair shake. I like th

These new updates are Tumblr+1 when they roll out fully.

Trying to figure out if it's better than Blogger to Twitter to Buzz. Geek stuff.

As it turns out, there is no easy way to import all my posts. The tools I found are outdated, or just didn't work. But, Dewitt Clinton had a great idea to use Blogger as a micro blog. This goes to feedburner, which then tweets your title with a link. Upshot? An accessible archive of tweets. Plus, the Android app for Blogger records your location. I'm curious if the location info transfers through RSS to Twitter and Google Buzz? Will find out shortly.

It's easy to postpone necessary things like exercise, sleep, eating right. Get ahead now so you can fall apart later.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Image via Wikipedia"] [/caption] Recently, I've been posting to and exploring Orkut , a social network created by Google. Orkut is popular in other countries; but, it never really caught on in the United States. Facebook has eclipsed Orkut with their huge rise in popularity. I find Orkut fascinating because of how easy the service makes it so you can choose who can see your posts. While the process of sorting your friends into groups is roughly the same as on Facebook, Orkut makes the process LOOK easier. I recognize the group feature of Orkut within Google Buzz , except that Buzz has a tighter integration with your contacts. Orkut almost seems to live outside of Google. Some major disadvantages I find, besides not having anybody I know on Orkut, is the lack of ways to add stuff to your Scrapbook. A Scrapbook is the equivalent of the Facebook Wall. Except for Youtube and Blo

The Texas Legislature recently passed SB 14, which has been dubbed the Voter ID bill. Unlike Congress, the Texas Legislature doesn't name bills, they simply go buy number. In any case, the Democratic Party is pulling out all the stops to try to frame the bill as racist, extreme, and costly. Most significantly are South Texas Democrats of the Rio Grande Valley who benefit from voter fraud to turn out the vote. I'm not saying that South Texas Democrats intentionally go out and seek to perpetrate fraud; I do mean that the South Texas political machines hold them captives. For this reason, they must come out and wholeheartedly oppose any legislation that seeks to limit election fraud. Those who profit from fraud wholly expect them to do so, or else. It's amusing that one of the arguments made is that Republicans, who have been pushing for some form of voter ID for years, have not presented a single case of voter impersonation in passing their bill. Who in their right mind would

Spanish Recap - 3.14.11 from Social Media Club on Vimeo .

Spanish Recap - 3.13.11 from Social Media Club on Vimeo . Spanish Recap 2 - 3.13.11 from Social Media Club on Vimeo .

Spanish Recap - 3.11.11 from Social Media Club on Vimeo .

My initial reaction to AT&T's purchase of T-Mobile is one of concern. This has very little to do with the technology and everything to do with company culture. I am very happy with T-Mobile mainly because of their customer service and pricing. I used to work for T-Mobile in their customer care department years ago. I can tell you that they have something good going on there.  Let's start off by clarifying that the buyout is not all gloom and doom. It actually helps out both customers of AT&T and T-Mobile. Both companies use GSM, so they are technologically compatible. The only thing that separates them are the frequencies they use, and not much beyond that. Plenty of people have jailbroken iPhones running on the T-Mobile network. You can currently buy unlocked GSM phones that will run on any GSM network provided you have a SIM card . From experience, I can tell you that AT&T has better rural coverage than T-Mobile. When T-Mobile customers roam, they hop on

Upon arrival in Austin, I immediately made my way to the office. In my anticipation and planning of the Social Media in Disaster and War event, I did not realize how close the date is to the state legislature's bill filing deadline. Our office is working to get our last bills in; we were receiving copies of our bills as late as 8pm. Social Media Clubhouse is geared up to start with the coverage of SXSWi. That means I should get as much information about what is happening in Austin for today's livestream. Then, of course, there is the mini-conference at the capitol. We need to prepare with snacks and drinks. I expect we will also have some kind of South Texas meetup somewhere. Lots of action this weekend. I expect to have a good time. So, I guess I'll get started.

Here I am on the Greyhound bus headed to Austin. I dozed for a couple minutes; but after a pit stop in Falfurrias, Texas, I'm awake again. I was sleepy before departing McAllen. Not sure what's keeping me up. Since I'm awake anyway, I'm thinking about what I'm doing. I'm an easy going guy. Ask anybody, they'll tell you I rarely get my feathers ruffled. Years ago, somebody told me I'm a type A personality. I thought, "bullshit". I'm not very competitive, don't have a natural sense of urgency, and don't feel compelled to boss people around. Looking back at the time since then, I look at where I am now and what I have taken on. Wow, maybe I am type A-ish. I think my skepticism came from the fact that I enjoy what I do. It's strange that I'm awake, anticipating the coming days. I have projects awaiting. It's self inflicted, mind you. I could just get a job and blend in; but, I can't seem to do it. Oh, well. Let

I'm starting to see the trickle of applications that are being announced for SXSW. So far I am seeing apps for iOS, not for Android. I know the iPhone has a die-hard fan base; but come on. Android outnumbers them. Being left out in the cold like this by developers only means one thing; when your app comes to Android, it better be able to get me a beer from the fridge. Otherwise, I have no use for it.

When I first learned about Beluga, I was excited. It seems like a good concept. It's clean and easy to use; but, I could never find anybody willing to give it a try. It is understandable, to some degree. Nobody wants yet another login, app, social network. I thought perhaps SXSW would be the test that would make or break Beluga. But, Facebook bought them out, which is a kiss of death. It's not just Facebook; Google buys companies and assimilates them. Facebook simply lays acquisitions to pasture. I would have loved to put Beluga to the test; but there is no point now. When it comes down to it, I realize that Google Buzz pretty much does the same thing as what made Beluga interesting to me: private group messaging and location awareness. As it turns out, groupme.com just added location and photo sharing too. So, there are alternatives.

One of the problems that I have, which I realize only a small percentage of people have, is getting content out reliably and consistently. Each platform has its advantages and disadvantages. Twitter is simple, easy, and viewable by the world. Facebook has a bigger "potential" audience, not all 500 million users follow me. Small detail. My blog is running Wordpress. It's OK; but, I'm becoming more and more mobile, which can be a hindrance. I would like to rely on Posterous to fill the mobile gap; BUT, how the hech are they making money. I got burned by Utterli going under and taking my content with them. I'd rather trust a company that I know is making money. Going back to Twitter, though they're not making money, tweets are ethereal anyway. Video is another problem. Youtube has the big audience; but I can't livestream. There is also the issue of posting videos less than 10 minutes. Yes, they've raised the time limit; but other services ha

Social Media in Disaster and War Social Media Clubhouse Los invito a SocialMediaClubhouse.com este fin de semana